I am having intermittent derailing problems with my Bachmann turnouts (Nickel Silver w/gray roadbed). I have used the NMRA gauge and I am finding all of the Guard Rail to Stock Rail distance is too large (tab drops into opening between rails). This is on ALL 11 switches. it is so large that the tab on the "No Go" side of the gauge is able to "bounce" between the rails. I find it hard to believe that ALL are out of spec. Am I doing something wrong and/or should I be concerned.

The NMRA guage is based on the standards for people who hand lay their own track, or use higher end ready made track like Shinohara and Micro-Engineering.

And the guard to stock rail distance on most code 100 turnouts is too wide based on those standards. Most were originally designed to handle to old style, way oversize, "pizza cutter" flanges, that came on older train set equipment. Which creates problems for the newer RP-25 contour wheels, with much smaller flanges.

My solution is to glue styrene strips to the inside edge of the guard rail to narrow the gap, then paint it to match. Others fill the gap with that blue epoxy putty stuff that feels like clay when mixed, then run a car back on forth by hand to create a flange way until it sets up. Still others trim the existing guard rail completely out, then fabricate a new one. And there are still other ways of dealing with it.

With almost everyone using RP-25, or finer, wheels these days, you'd think by know manufacturers would have retooled to make their turnouts closer to the standards. But since they haven't, there are ways to deal with the problem.

My solution is to glue styrene strips to the inside edge of the guard rail to narrow the gap, then paint it to match. Others fill the gap with that blue epoxy putty stuff that feels like clay when mixed, then run a car back on forth by hand to create a flange way until it sets up. Still others trim the existing guard rail completely out, then fabricate a new one. And there are still other ways of dealing with it.

I think I'm having the same problem with my turnouts.

Can you elaborate a bit on exactly where you put the styrene? Are you talking about putting it against the black plastic guard rail on the outer edges of the track?